[Flagellin]

I'm going to have to return my Fiio E10, unfortunately. The headphone jack is loose and makes a lot of noise. 
 
This is not going to be for portable use. My ipod powers my ATH-M50s just fine. The primary application will be to get sound from my laptop, as it has terrible audio. After hearing the audio quality of the E10, which is frankly quite good, I'm going to extend my price limit (which was originally $100) to $150. 
 
Anyone think that the Hi Fi Man EF2A is worth looking at? the reviews look pretty good (and the tubes are just sexy, I'm not gonna lie). 

 

[Flagellin]

More specifics: 
 
Bare minimum is USB input. Toslink would be a huge plus, but I don't really expect it at this price point. 

 

[Flagellin]

And hell, I got Christmas money, let's round that up to $200. 

 

[jaykay]

Admittedly, I've been pretty inactive on this forum for the past 2 years, but I spotted an iBasso D10 going for ~$170 not too long ago in the for sale section. I believe Larry has those rated pretty high on his big review of portable dac/amps. I'd also take a look into a meier 2move/3move in the for sale section. I used to have a 2move and it was brilliant when paired with my former Denon AH-D2000.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/306883/updated-2-22-review-13-usb-dac-amp-predator-pico-2-3move-d10-d3-d2-viper-boa-d1-lyrix-microamp-vivid-v1-nuforce-xm5

 

[Flagellin]

Quote:

Admittedly, I've been pretty inactive on this forum for the past 2 years, but I spotted an iBasso D10 going for ~$170 not too long ago in the for sale section. I believe Larry has those rated pretty high on his big review of portable dac/amps. I'd also take a look into a meier 2move/3move in the for sale section. I used to have a 2move and it was brilliant when paired with my former Denon AH-D2000.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/306883/updated-2-22-review-13-usb-dac-amp-predator-pico-2-3move-d10-d3-d2-viper-boa-d1-lyrix-microamp-vivid-v1-nuforce-xm5

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll scour the FS section, since most of those seem to be out of my price range. 
 
And Jamiroquai fan, eh? 
 

 

[Flagellin]

I saw a little dot MkII in the FS section for $150. It seems to be a very nicely reviewed unit. How much would I have to spend to get a DAC of matching worthiness? 
 
And though I'm wary about this sort of stuff from HK, anyone have any experience with this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/12AU7-Tube-Headphone-Amplifier-PCM2702-USB-DAC-Pre-Amp-/260791075968?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb85c0480#ht_4414wt_1270